GRAND RAPIDS, MI: Largest Parish in Diocese - Grace Episcopal Faces Dissolution
GRAND RAPIDS, MI: Largest Parish in Diocese - Grace Episcopal - Faces Dissolution
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
March 7, 2012
Internal strife, an inept and absent bishop, a disillusioned laity, and deficit spending are leading Grace Episcopal Church - the largest parish in the diocese - towards dissolution. This was the parish home of the late President and Mrs. Gerald Ford.
At the parish's annual meeting on January 12, 2012, Dr. Michael Olgren, Chair of the Finance Committee, painted a dire financial picture of the parish stating that the parish would either have to close its doors in September or revert back to mission status without a significant increase in giving.
If this were to happen, the Diocese would gain access to the parish's $1.9 million endowment fund. A month previous, Dr. Olgren angered many parishioners at the annual meeting for a stewardship drive, when he wrote "I wish the rich people would come back, I get hungry at coffee hour." The parish's Rector, the Rev. Stephen Holmgren did not attend the annual meeting, citing concerns about his father's health.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
March 7, 2012
At the parish's annual meeting on January 12, 2012, Dr. Michael Olgren, Chair of the Finance Committee, painted a dire financial picture of the parish stating that the parish would either have to close its doors in September or revert back to mission status without a significant increase in giving.
If this were to happen, the Diocese would gain access to the parish's $1.9 million endowment fund. A month previous, Dr. Olgren angered many parishioners at the annual meeting for a stewardship drive, when he wrote "I wish the rich people would come back, I get hungry at coffee hour." The parish's Rector, the Rev. Stephen Holmgren did not attend the annual meeting, citing concerns about his father's health.
Read the full story at www.VirtueOnline.org
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